REGION 232

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REGION 232 OVERVIEW

Methodology:

Called each BOA from branch office. Introduced myself. Told each one I am volunteering for regional
BOA conference and putting together a report on any questions, concerns and suggestions they might
have. Made clear I am taking notes, but that their confidentiality would be kept. Allowed each BOA to
speak off the top of their head first. Afterwards, I cross referenced with them the major issues other BOAs
had, or confirmed what other BOAs said.

BOAs surveyed: 33, BOAs missing 2.

Not every issue or statement was cross referenced with everyone else. As such, where a ‘few’ or ‘some’ is
stated, may in fact be common to more. Also. The points in brackets is based on at least 1 BOAs
experience or anecdote.

General –
-Most BOAs are typically women, 30+ years old.
-Most are afraid to lose their jobs even though they are unhappy. Unwilling to find a new job due to
various reasons (financial situation, age, mental exhaustion/frustration)
-Most take solace in other aspects of job satisfaction (feeling part of a team, delivering results, receiving
FA/client praise, dental benefits, rrsp matching)
-Some issues are piling up and are only getting worse. (salary, training, lack of BOA power, lack of BOA
recognition)
-Most say they work for their FA, and feel disconnected from “Edward Jones” (2 person office, no
contact with other associates, regional meetings too far to attend or a waste of time, hard to
organize everyone for social meets, HR cancelling BOA regional, don’t know or ever meet
people in HO)
-Some unhappy but never brought up issues with HR
-A few happy with Edward Jones culture and model (1 FA- 1 BOA office good for clients, good
compliance, limited partnership good)

Views towards HR
-A few say they are happy with HR (vacation scheduling, rrsp matching, dental benefits)
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-Most say they are unhappy with HR
(slow to respond, vague answers regarding how min-mid-max is calculated, how market increases
are calculated, how BOA job is being compared, unresponsive to multiple email inquiries over a
period of time, unreliable source of information, typically sides with the FA in conflicts, not like
 how HR communicates through the FA after first contact, HR use of phrased paragraphs,
perceived insincerity to BOA issues, benefit of 500$ rrsp matching too small, benefit of rrsp
matching a joke when living pay cheque to pay cheque, salary not being indexed according to
industry raises, 3 weeks’ vacation for new BOAs, 10 years to get 4 weeks vacation below
industry standard timeframe of 6 years, on call BOA scheduling supply/problems, sick days not
carrying forward, unused vacation pay not being paid, increasing responsibilities being
downloaded from HO to BOA, HR not allowing BOAs to be licensed as a method of justifying
unjust salary, HR cancelling BOA regional meetings when Edward Jones was going through cost
cutting in the aftermath of 2008, lack of transparency about business model and
calculations/statistics used to determine salary)
-Most say they have no one to turn to (BOA ombudsman is powerful less, unsure to trust regional leader
or HR, disconnected from other BOAs, afraid to jeopardize friendly FA relationship)
-Most say the training is inadequate (here’s your desk-Joneslinks- slides-phone and good luck, only
spend a day or so with BOA mentor)
-A few say the training is okay (videos very helpful, many slides covering most administrative aspects)
-Some say the training slides are misleading (give impression of large potential bonuses if branch is
profitable, idea of BOA-FA near equal partnership)

Views towards FA
-Most BOAs say they have a good relationship with their FA (open and honest, professional)
-Some say their FAs understand their issues (Mortgage, Rent, Family, unfair base salary, limited
opportunities for meaningful salary increases)
-Most say their FAs displayed cognitive dissonance at one point or another
(FAs forget, twist, obfuscate their promises whenever it comes to their pocket, some BOA think the
two options are that either the FA is stringing the BOAs along and just buying time with one
excuse or another, or they truly are that forgetful when it comes to BOA issues, FA making
dubious counter arguments against the BOA when the BOA brings up their issues, missing annual
reviews, FA consciously or unconsciously manifesting poor performance stress onto BOA, some
BOA lack courage or mental fortitude to confront FA over issues and resort to hinting)
- Some BOAs think that FAs are not performing their duties (coming in late consistently, long lunches,
leaving early, not giving valid reasons for their schedule, unfairly treating the clients, unfairly
treating the clients for personal gain, not making notes on meetings and keeping BOA
appraised, not being professional with the use of language in the office, balancing the concerns of
the client versus the desires of the FA)
- A few BOAs have zero trust in their branches after confronting their FAs about above issues
(making detailed notes and scanning them under the branch, printing off the intercom, don’t
know who they can trust to turn to)
-Many BOAs see no financial incentive for exceeding or outstanding expectations (vague FA standards of
exceeding and outstanding, pattern of FA not living up to their promises, actual max 3% salary
increase is negligible)
-Many BOAs say they do far more than their job description (analyzing companies, keeping apace
market developments and news, speaking to clients about aforementioned, cold calling
prospecting, asking clients for referrals, developing closer relationship with client than the FA
has, balancing client trust vs FA, taking more and more responsibility away from the FA,
business coaching FA in dealing and approaching clients, knowing the clients financial or
personal life better than the FA,
THE TWO ISSUES THAT ARE AT THE FOREFRONT
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The two issues each BOA in our region has or will at one point deal with is: Salary and FA-BOA
relationship.
Who do I go to when my FA or legacy is being bad?

 BOA ombudsman only confidential resource, but powerless to get involved as an authority on
your behalf, or to act as mediator. A shoulder to cry on basically.
 Compliance/field supervision deals with IROC based activities and speaks directly to FA, not
unlicensed BOAs.
 HRs goal seems to preserve the branch team relationship while simultaneously blocking
meaningful salary/bonus/relationship discussions from the perspective of the BOA.
 “HR must provide flawless administration services while also operating as a strategic partner to
the business”. The business revolves around the FA. It’s His office, and the business will always
revolve around the bottom line.
 Regional leader is like any other FA, other than the fact they are level 10, and responsible for
growing the business. Growing any business occurs two ways, organic growth (new branches) or
efficiency improvements (cost cutting). Regional leader is also just 1 person, not necessarily
trained or capable of dealing with collective BOA interests.
 Others to turn to, Area Leader, director of HR, GP of HR. All persons unfamiliar to BOAs. Who
can we trust? Why should we trust them? Trust should be earned.

What is the average salary? How is inflation calculated? What criteria are used to determine the min-mid-
max?
 HR did not/failed to answer any of them. Or point to any helpful webpages.
 Questions regarding market increase calculations, annual performance reviews and maximum
salary increase, structure of bonus incentives, and other benefits left unanswered to many
different BOAs, sometimes going back many years. Evidence of laziness, verbal placation tactics
with no meaningful actions.
 One of us did answer the questions for ‘average salary according to each branch level’, something
HR directly skirted around when I asked them. Web 571055. Note how you cannot search any
phrase in the webpage in Joneslink for it to show up on any search. Note that this average
includes BOA expenses besides salary, such as mileage and dental plans.
 Many senior BOAs confirm that our salary range, ‘min-mid-max’ is being compared to industry
standard of assistants’’ unlicensed assistant. Considered bottom of the barrel in the industry.